Atheist characters in fiction

Didn't see a post like this offhand in the forums, but I only looked around a little, sorry if this is a repeat.

Anyway, I just came across a very well developed atheist character in Brandon Sanderson's 'Way of Kings' and was really thrown for a loop. Not only is she awesome and smart, she makes great rational arguments in favor of her position. It's interesting to me, because she's in a very religious world and has been branded a heretic, etc. What further interests me is Sanderson is a Mormon. I'm not sure why I'm astonished that a religious person could write a good non-religious person. But I'm very pleased. (I haven't finished the book yet, and its the first in a series, so I have no way telling if she gets eaten by snakes or zapped by lightning or something..).

It's fascinating to me to see an atheist in fantasy, in particular, because fantasy tends to accept that gods are real, along with magic and all that.

I was wondering if any other novels have atheist characters figured in. I mean, as of yet this isn't a major plot point, but its a central part of who this character is. So like that, not just something mentioned as an aside.

The main characters in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth. This one was strange though, because in that world magic definitely existed, as did another 'spirit realm'.. but there was a distinction between those who believed in some sort of 'Creator', and those who didn't (main protagonists). The Creator crowd had a constant battle with the secular magic-wielding crowd, cos they though magic was a tool of the devil, and wanted to abolish it from the world. Main protagonists were like 'See... have magic.. you have yet to show me this Creator person thing, why should I listen to you?'

Without talking about the plot of all 11 books.. I though the way TG eventually reconciled this was quite neat.

Unfortunately I'm a hard sf to death fan so to me star trek is nothing more than sixties western revival masquerading as an space opera while having some awesome episode written by some awesome people like The city on the edge forever :D

Ack I LOVE stargate. I didn't know I was a scifi geek until my husband sat me down and made me watch it. Of course, I guess I'm not a purist as far as scifi is concerned since that's the only scifi I've really been exposed to. Unless you count Spaceballs.

BUT I would have to say that stargate is pretty atheistic. The whole premise is about overtaking these aliens who have pretended to be ancient Egyptian, Greek and other mythological gods. Later on in the series they also take on the Ori who pretty much kind of parallel Christianity (the horrible parts of it, anyway).

Gene Rodenberry referred to Star Trek as a "Wagon Train To The Stars."

I can't name specific characters by many themes in Arthur C. Clarke's (who was himself Atheist) novels are atheistic in nature. He avoids discussions of "higher beings" very well. Clarke was probably the main impetus for me to eschew religion.

I'm trying to write a fantasy theistic vs atheistic novel focused around religious intolerance and the like. I'm trying to iron out the details clearly (i.e. Mages are scientists; magic is another aspect of science (ie natural) and ironically resembles the pseudo; theistics church simular to vatican; etc).

If I ever get published (Hopeful), some more names can be added to this list, i guess.